Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan raised concern over his damaged seat which was allotted to him by Air India on a flight from Bhopal to Delhi. He questioned as to why passengers are allocated damaged seats when they are charged the full amount.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday slammed Air India after he was allotted a broken seat while he was travelling to Delhi from Bhopal. He raised concern over the issue, adding that the matter was not about his discomfort in sitting but that it was unethical to make passengers sit on uncomfortable seats. Chouhan was travelling to Delhi to inaugurate the Kisan Mela in Pusa and hold a meeting of the Natural Farming Mission in Kurukshetra. He was also scheduled to meet representatives of the Kisan Organisation in Chandigarh.
In a post on X, the Union Agriculture Minister said, “Today I had to come from Bhopal to Delhi, inaugurate the Kisan Mela in Pusa, hold a meeting of the Natural Farming Mission in Kurukshetra and discuss with the honourable representatives of the Kisan Organisation in Chandigarh.”
He added, “I had booked a ticket on Air India flight number AI436, I was allotted seat number 8C. I went and sat on the seat, the seat was broken and sunken in. It was uncomfortable to sit. When I asked the airline staff why the seat was allotted to me if it was bad, they told me that the management had been informed earlier that this seat was not good and its ticket should not be sold. There are not just one such seat but many more.”
He further added, “My co-passengers requested me to change my seat and sit on a better seat but why should I trouble another friend for my sake, I decided that I would complete my journey by sitting on this same seat.”
He also said that he had an impression that Tata’s takeover would have improved the services, but it turned out to be my misconception. Chouhan asked if it wasn’t cheating on customers. He said, “I don’t care about discomfort in sitting but it is unethical to make passengers sit on bad and uncomfortable seats after charging them full amount. Isn’t this cheating the passengers?”
Furthermore, he asked, “Will the Air India management take steps to ensure that no passenger faces such inconvenience in future or will it continue to take advantage of the passengers’ compulsion to reach their destination early?”